Big names in NBA, tennis and one in football grab the headlines

He is one of the internationally reputed football coaches Trinidad and Tobago would love to have. But the cash-strapped Trinidad and Tobago Football Association are looking elsewhere working behind the scenes before naming one for its national men’s team in short order.

News this morning that ex-Manchester United and Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal says he has retired from coaching after a 26-year career.

Van Gaal, 65, has been out of work since being sacked by United hours after winning the FA Cup in May 2016. Van Gaal also had spells in charge of Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and AZ.

In NBA action yesterday, Martin Luther King Day in the Us, it was a match-up of last season’s finalists Cleveland Cavaliers, the champions and Golden State Warriors

LeBron James vs. two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry for the third straight time, complete with the hard-nosed play of Draymond Green, dazzling dunks from Kevin Durant and sharp shooting from Kyrie Irving.

This regular-season round went to the Warriors, who dominated from the start for a 126 to 91 rout of the Cavaliers.

Curry had 20 points and dished out 11 assists. Klay Thompson scored 26 points with five 3s, and Green produced his third triple-double of the season with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.

James had 20 points on 6-of-18 shooting and eight rebounds.

Durant added 21 points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks for the Warriors in a much-hyped matchup merely weeks after Golden State lost 109-108 in Cleveland on Christmas.

The Warriors squandered a 14-point lead that day in a loss that fueled them going into Monday. They relinquished a 3-1 advantage in the Finals last year, a failure that motivates them to return to the big stage.

In tennis six-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams progressed to the second round with a straight-set win over Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic.

The American, 35, won 6-4 6-3 in 79 minutes against the 19-year-old in scorching conditions in Melbourne.

The world number two, who is chasing a record 23rd singles Grand Slam title, said she “has nothing to lose”.

Fifth seed Karolina Pliskova, who beat Williams in last year’s US Open semi-finals, went through thanks to a 6-2 6-0 victory over Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo.

No other man on tour knows the way around a Grand Slam tournament better than Federer, who is playing in his 69th major and has won a record 17.

He served 19 aces and had only one double-fault in a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win Monday over fellow 35-year-old Jurgen Melzer.

Federer had surgery on the knee after a semifinal exit at the last Australian Open and missed the French Open, ending his streak of 65 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. He returned for Wimbledon, reached the semifinals, then didn’t play again in 2016. In November, he fell out of the top 10 for the first time in 734 weeks.

The 17th-seeded Federer wasn’t the only highly-ranked player to find the going tough Monday.

Stan Wawrinka, the U.S. Open champion, was pushed to five sets. So was No. 5-seeded Kei Nishikori. Angelique Kerber, defending champion and ranked No. 1 at a major for the first time, had some nervous moments in her 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win over Lesia Tsurenko.

Kerber won her first Grand Slam title in Melbourne last year, beating Serena Williams in the final after saving a match point in the first round.

In his first Grand Slam match with the elevated status of having a knighthood and the No. 1 ranking, Andy Murray berated himself when he made mistakes and frequently yelled during a 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over Illya Marchenko.